Governor Inslee visits Pullman

PULLMAN-Governor Jay Inslee met with the Port of Whitman County, AgTech OS, and several other regional partners on Friday, Feb. 17 to learn about the Port's proposed Agriculture Advancement Campus and AgTech OS's proposed biofuels facility near pullman.

The proposed project will be located next the Whispering Hills Subdivision, calling for around a 550-square-foot buffer of green space and commercially zoned land between the biodiesel plant and the homes located there.

The biofuels facility will convert canola into fuel for agricultural operation.

The project is estimated to cost a total of $108.8 million. Public funding source would be at $3.8 million, private $100 million, and the CERB loan of $5 million.

In a press release from the Port of Whitman County Tuesday, Feb. 21, Executive Director Kara Reibold stated, "We appreciate Gov. Inslee and his staff taking the time to meet with us and learn about the possibilities the proposed campus and the AgTech OS facility bring to our region and state. There's so much potential with this project to create jobs, economic vitality, and environmental benefits that will sustain us today and build a foundation for our future. We have lots of work ahead of us and are looking forward to continuing to move through the process with our partners and community."

With several protestors of the project, Ag Tech OS Chief Operating Officer Garth Mader asked the Governor what his advice would be to get people to learn about and accept the project.

"They hear the word industrial, and it makes them fear it," Mader said, adding that they've started a website to make people aware of what the project entails.

Inslee jokingly stated that they should rename the project "Mother's Milk," but then explained that the best way to approach it would be to sit down and have conversations with the public about it.

The Port and AgTech OS explained in their presentation that they believe the project will attract industry innovators, and support the Palouse's agricultural economy.

A powerpoint shared the potential timeline of the project funding starting in Jan. 2023, engineering in March 2023, and construction beginning in March 2024. They expect the plant to be in operation by Dec. 2024.

Local fourth-generation farmer Cary Janson and his son Cole Janson attended the meeting. "I'm fourth generation," he said, noting they've been sixth-generations since 1886 in Whitman County.

Whitman County Commissioner Tom Handy and representatives from the Washington State Department of Commerce and Avista Utilities were in attendance.

The Port of Whitman County has made an offer to purchase 184 acres on Southwest Old Wawawai Road in Pullman for a proposed Agricultural Advancement Campus, according to the press release. The property purchase is not final, and Port is currently working on negotiations.